Friday, 31 December 2010

Sunday, 26 December 2010

Solar panels will be fitted to 20 NHS buildings across the city in a bid to cut carbon emissions and save cash.

Initial costs for the scheme run to £250,000 but it is expected to generate an income of £31,360 a year.

NHS Plymouth managers this week approved the plans to fit photovoltaic (PV) cells to roofs of properties including the Cumberland Centre and Peninsula Dental School in Devonport, Mount Gould Hospital, Ernesettle Primary Care Centre, Plympton Hospital and the Nuffield Clinic.

Health bosses said the project, part of a national drive, is among a number of ways the primary care trust is looking to improve energy efficiency and reduce utility bills. They are looking to install the panels by February to take advantage of a Government incentive tariff.

Di Philpott, NHS Plymouth project planning manager, said PV cells are one of the most effective ways of reducing carbon emissions.

Saturday, 25 December 2010

Marks & Spencer and the Co-op have been named as the greenest British supermarkets in a new report. Ethical Consumer magazine praised both stores for their eco-credentials, with special mention being made of the Co-op's policy on sourcing fish and Marks & Spencer's palm oil sourcing.

The Co-op was also said to aim to get 98 percent of its energy from renewable sources at its 5,500 sites around the country. Rob Harrison, co-author of the report, said: "These two companies have made genuine efforts to reduce the environmental and ethical impact of their operations and have demonstrated that they are setting the environmental agenda for supermarkets."

Friday, 24 December 2010

The UK's Department for Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne announced the biggest energy reform "in decades" on Friday.

The reform package includes:

* a carbon price floor "increasing the cost of fossil fuel based generation, and strengthening the carbon price for UK electricity generators." * two Feed in Tarrifs: standard and premium contracts under which "the Government will agree to clear, long term contracts" which essentially places a certainty on the price of renewable energy (and thus the benefit to consumers and energy generators) which therefore makes investment (theoretically) less risky. * an Emissions Performance Standard that ensures no new coal power plants are built without carbon capture and storage technology in place * incentives for energy grid demand reduction measures and building spare renewable generation capacity, dubbed 'negawatt' capacity by the government. Negawatt capacity will be monitored by a Capacity Mechanism.

For the first time since the freezing weather once again took the UK by surprise, the National Grid has issued a warning to some companies that they will have to rely on generators so that stocks can be diverted to houses. The 'gas balancing alert' was issued following Sunday's record demand for 460 million cubic meters of the fuel.

There are now serious concerns that households, which have already seen a hike in their energy bills, will suffer further price rises in the new year. The wholesale price of gas has already risen by 11 per cent, and this increase may well get passed on to the consumer.

Although energy providers usually manage to keep costs down by purchasing fuel on longer term contracts, the sudden demand for fuel means those firms are now having to source gas for immediate delivery, which is far more expensive.

Thursday, 23 December 2010

New research highlights the enormous aggregate spending power of the UK's smaller and medium sized businesses and vital contribution they will make towards economic recovery.

The report for British Gas Business, shows smaller and medium sized businesses spend £1.1tn on their supply chain annually - 49 per cent of UK business expenditure, and account for £1.6tn of total national business turnover, greater than the whole of the FTSE100.

It also forecasts a record 312,000 start ups will be created by the end of 2010 and a further 297,000 in 2011. While not all of these businesses will survive, they will make a major contribution to replacing the 330,000 jobs estimated to be lost as a result of severe public spending cuts through to 2015.

Wednesday, 22 December 2010

Over the past few years there has been an ongoing debate about the growing amount of energy needed to power the World Wide Web, a.k.a the Internet, and the impacts on our environment. Many have tried to pin down the exact amount of energy needed to power the internet and its carbon footprint. Recently The Guardian published an article saying that the Internet's carbon footprint was around 300 million tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to every person in the UK flying to America and back twice over.

The Internets Carbon Footprint The article was published in August and with the number of internet users growing by the day worldwide I wouldn't be surprised if these figures were higher nowadays. According to the UN by the end of the year there will be 2 billion world internet users, that is 1/6 of world population.

Tuesday, 21 December 2010

Plymouth Argyle chairman Sir Roy Gardner has taken over the running of Leeds-based utility support services company Spice. Spice is the parent company of Lancashire-based energy specialist Inenco.

Sir Roy, who acted as chairman of Connaught this year before the Exeter-based housing maintenance company collapsed, over the role with immediate effect. The appointment follows the £251m sale of the Spice group to private equity group Cinven.

Inenco, based in Lytham St Annes, specialises in energy management, sustainability and environmental services. The announcement follows the appointment of David Owens as chief executive of Spice earlier this month.

Spot UK wholesale gas prices on Monday jumped above 70 pence per therm - the highest level in over two years - as gas demand hovered close to record high levels.

Ongoing freezing temperatures pushed up demand from local distribution zones, which include residential heating, and meant overall consumption was 33% above normal December levels.

The key Day-ahead wholesale gas contract, the price for gas to be delivered on Tuesday, traded at 71.50 pence per therm on Monday morning, a rise of 6.40 pence per therm from Friday. The last time the contract closed above 70 pence per therm was on 31 October 2008.

Demand reached a record high of 465.80 million cubic metres at 08:03 London time, according to National Grid. But this had fallen to 461.50 million cubic metres by 10:02. National Grid estimates total demand levels for the day on an hourly basis.

Highest ever demand was 465.5 million cubic metres on 8 January 2010. Highest demand this winter to date was 456.6 million cubic metres on 2 December.

Monday, 20 December 2010

UK natural gas network operator National Grid PLC (NGG) sought to reassure consumers Monday that there would be sufficient supplies to a meet a new all-time high in demand, despite the utility issuing a gas balancing alert Sunday.

Companies hoping to build Britain's new nuclear stations, including EDF and Centrica, will score a victory in the electricity market reforms - the biggest shake-up since privatisation. Money will be raised from consumer bills to help fund expensive nuclear, wind and other low-carbon power, as the UK moves away from cheap fossil fuel electricity. It will cost £40bn to build Britain's new nuclear power stations and this will largely be funded by utilities. However, the Government will agree to four measures providing investors with certainty that they will make money from nuclear and wind power, which carry huge up-front capital costs. Firstly, it will fix the price that some low-carbon generators can get for their electricity, awarding contracts to companies that can build capacity at the lowest cost. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/8204683/UK-government-agrees-to-subsidise-nuclear-power-companies-prices.html

Low-carbon technologies such as renewable energy will be the "dominant" form of energy generation by 2030 under government plans for the largest shake-up of the UK energy sector since privatisation in the 1980s.

Announcing the proposals today, the energy and climate secretary, Chris Huhne, said it would lead to a "seismic shift" towards cleaner energy.

The government says that more than £110bn of investment is needed in new power stations and grid upgrades over the next decade - double the investment over the last decade. Around a quarter of the UK's generating capacity needs to be replaced by 2020, equivalent to around 20 large power stations.

Huhne said the reforms aimed to boost investment in low-carbon energy and allow the UK to meet its ambitious target of cutting emissions by 34% by 2020.

The changes will establish a minimum "floor" price for carbon and long-term contracts that give investors a guaranteed price for providing energy - in addition to setting a tax on fossil fuels. The government has not announced what the floor price will be.

Friday, 17 December 2010

Carbon Trust Advisory Services has released a paper on how large UK businesses underestimate the financial payback from energy efficiency measures by as much as £1.6bn.

The body's analysis of companies it currently works with suggests that businesses can expect bills to be cut by up to 15% by implementing energy efficiency measures.

The Business of Energy Efficiency paper also found that investments in energy efficiency are paid back within three years and have an average initial rate of return of 48%, well beyond the 11.5% many businesses mandate as a minimum requirement.

However, it found many businesses don't implement all the efficiency projects they have at their disposal and miss out a possible £1.6bn each year in cost savings.

Thursday, 16 December 2010

Snow and freezing temperatures didn't deter consultants from finding out about Ipswich-based Haven Power's exciting plans to double the SME side of its business and become the service-oriented supply company of choice for the I&C sector at its recent conference, where its growth and commitment to customer service was highlighted.

After four years of operation and with annualised sales of £200 million, Haven has plenty to shout about. This includes the company opening up its offering to service the SME half-hourly sector and continuing to grow its volume in the I&C sector by doubling its existing 100 customers year-on-year over the next five years. The 'Haven have the power' conference, held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire, informed consultants of the company's direction and ambitions in light of its new brand image, which is being rolled out across the business. http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content

The Government today gave the go-ahead for a new gas installation at Tirley in Gloucestershire, which will help boost UK energy security by allowing for more gas imports.

Energy Minister Charles Hendry said:

"This Government is committed to ensuring we maintain secure energy supplies. A vital part of this is having a diverse energy mix: renewables, nuclear, coal with Carbon Capture and Storage and gas all have an important part to play.

National Grid's new Gas Pressure Reduction Installation will be a vital part of a 316 kilometre pipeline transporting gas from the Milford Haven liquefied natural gas terminals into the National Gas Transmission network at Tirley."

Before you finalise on a business gas supplier or a commercial gas broker, it is very important that you get a range of business gas quotes which you can then compare and contrast, and make your choice depending on your budget and needs.

There are a number of gas suppliers in UK offering business gas supply to commercial establishments at very competitive prices. The easiest way to get quotes from these suppliers is to simply log on to the Internet and look up the information on their websites.

You could also call up these suppliers and request for quotes. However you have probably already figured out how tedious and time-consuming this could get, especially seeing that there are so many providers on the market.

Wednesday, 15 December 2010

In line with the UK's climate change act, landlords are now required to make their properties as energy efficient as possible. The act aims to reduce UK's carbon dioxide emissions by 26% by 2020.

Under the new legislation being put in place, landlords who refuse to do their part for the environment could face fines over the next few months. However, this doesn't only affect landlords, as third parties found to be renting out energy inefficient homes will also be liable for financial punishment.

The National Landlords Association says that small changes can make a large impact on the energy efficiency of a home and recently supplied a few energy saving tips to landlords. Some of these tips include sealing windows and doors to prevent draughts, replacing all light bulbs with energy saving ones (this is required already) and obtaining an energy grant to carry out more stringent energy saving procedures.

Established in 1999 and widely recognized as the "Oscars" of the energy industry, Platts Global Energy Awards highlight corporate and individual innovation, leadership, and superior performance in 17 categories spanning the entire energy complex. 2010 winners were honored at a gala awards ceremony in New York City.

Winners were chosen by a panel of expert judges of energy ministers, national regulators, past and present heads of major energy companies, and leading academics and legislators. TESCO was selected from a pool of more than 200 nominations. In the Energy Efficiency Program of the Year, Commercial End-User category alone, TESCO was up against eight other well established companies, including Coca-Cola Enterprises and McDonald's USA LLC. Platts bestows its Energy Efficiency Program of the Year award each year to two companies, an exemplary commercial end-user and an exemplary energy supplier. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/TESCO-Wins-2010-Platts-Global-prnews-1677601720.html?x=0 &.v=1

Tuesday, 14 December 2010

The U.K. will import more Qatari commercial gas over the coming years as domestic supplies of the fuel dwindle and it looks to boost energy security amid fears about relying too heavily on Russia, the country's energy minister said Monday. In an interview with Zawya Dow Jones Monday U.K. energy minister Charles Hendry said the U.K. currently imports 12% of its gas from the Gulf Arab state of Qatar and this figure would rise in the coming years. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/12/13/uk-looks-qatar-meet-rising-gas-demand-uk-energy-min/

U.K. natural gas for delivery next quarter declined as more liquefied gas carriers headed to the U.K. and Belgium. Power for delivery tomorrow rose on forecast increased demand. The port of Milford Haven in south Wales will receive two additional LNG deliveries this month, according to its website. Belgium's Zeebrugge terminal, linked to the U.K. by pipeline, will also get a shipment, shipping data show. Gas for the first quarter slipped 0.7 pence, or 1.2 percent, to 58 pence a therm as of 10:15 a.m. in London. That's equal to $9.13 a million British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btu. The Al Samriya LNG tanker will dock at the South Hook terminal on Dec. 18 from Qatar. The Bluesky will arrive at BG Group Plc's neighboring terminal two days later while the Grace Acacia LNG tanker is due at Zeebrugge on Dec. 28. That brings the total number of ships due in the two countries to 11. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-k-natural-gas-for-first-quarter-falls-as-more-lng-tankers-are-expected.html

Businesses are facing a "perfect storm" from 2012 when they will be hit by a doubling in their energy bills at the same time as the UK government's controversial "carbon tax". Carbon Masters, a spin-out company from the University of Edinburgh, has calculated that most UK firms will be see their gas and electricity bills soar by 100 per cent between 2012 and 2016 while they will also be saddled with a carbon tax bill of at least £42,000 under the government's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) energy efficiency scheme.

Kevin Houston, chief executive of Carbon Masters, believes most companies are completely unprepared for the enormous jump in their energy costs from 2012 onwards.

The CRC scheme was set out by the previous Labour government in order to encourage large and medium-sized firms which use at least 6,000 megawatts a year to improve their energy efficiency

Thursday, 9 December 2010

A new complaints league has been published on energy companies to help consumers to decide which supplier to use. Consumer Focus launched the complaints league table today (November 8) to present data on complaints to energy companies in what they hope will be a transparent and user-friendly way. In the first league table Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) do best with a 4-star rating and npower, EDF and Scottish Power come last with only 2 stars. The performance rating is based on data from July to September this year. The table is to be published quarterly. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=19119

As the cold weather hit Great Britain, most of gas and electricity providers in the country announced price rises, causing their customers' anger.

UK consumers filed numerous complaints to Ofgem, energy regulator, and were provided with an opportunity to choose the best gas and electricity provider.

Consumer Focus, the statutory consumer champion for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, launched a table to rate UK energy providers based on the complaints received from consumers by Consumer Direct, Consumer Focus and the Energy Ombudsman.

Wednesday, 8 December 2010

Three of the biggest energy companies in the UK have been given just two stars by a consumer watchdog in a new complaints league table. EDF, npower and ScottishPower were given the worst star rating by Consumer Focus for the number of complaints they received in relation to their market share.

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) came top of the league table with four stars, while British Gas and E.On both received three stars.

The consumer watchdog ranked the "Big Six" energy firms to help consumers decide which supplier will give them the fewest problems or best handle any complaints. Scores were weighted to take into account the severity of each complaint such as the length of time it took to be resolved.

Consumer Focus said the "Big Six" received 4.6 million complaints in the last financial year. Its research showed consumers wanted to be able to compare how companies handled complaints when considering switching supplier.

A spokeswoman for npower said: "We have recently invested over £200 million in our systems and dramatically improved our complaints handling processes. We're already seeing results - we have more than halved the number of complaints to external bodies in the last 12 months.

"Although we currently share the same ranking as Scottish Power and EDF, we're looking to continue to improve our performance in the future."

Nikola Tesla is known by many as the father of commercial electricity, without his breakthrough in the field of electromagnetism and patents as well as his theoretical work served as the basis for modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase system of electrical distribution and the AC motor.

Since Tesla, countless inventors have developed technologies that influenced and changed the way we use and generate electricity. Nowadays the quest is to find ways to generate electricity from renewable energy resources to reduce the Earth's carbon footprint easing the impacts of Global Warming.

Every now and then we bring to our readers some of these renewable energy resources projects and concepts. Today we have compiled a list with those that we think are the most innovative, efficient and most importantly cost-effective renewable energy generation projects to date.

U.K. gas and power bills are likely to rise over the next decade due to higher wholesale energy costs, distribution charges and other non-energy costs, senior executives from five of the U.K.'s big six energy suppliers said Tuesday. Speaking to lawmakers in the parliament's Energy and Climate Change Committee, senior executives from Centrica PLC (CNA.LN), Scottish and Southern Energy PLC (SSE.LN) and U.K. units of RWE AG (RWE.XE), E.ON AG (EOAN.XE) and Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR), said the inevitable direction of wholesale prices meant domestic bills would get more expensive.

"If you look forward to 2020 we're all expecting to see higher wholesale prices and higher transmission and distribution charges across the industry as we have to make larger investments in the industry," said Centrica's Phil Bentley, pointing out that energy regulator Ofgem said it expects average bills to be 15% to 20% higher by 2020.

Improving energy efficiency is an important topic on the agenda of most businesses these days. The benefits are numerous, from reducing carbon footprint to the most important of all cutting down on costs with energy. So million dollar question is: How to enhance business energy efficiency?

There are many ways to do so but this is not quite what I want to talk about in this article. I won't be suggesting you change all the lights in your business to LED lights, even though that is one the most cost effective ways to enhance your business' energy efficiency.

In this article I'd like to discuss what is more effective consumer education or infrastructure updates. One could say that by combining both you could achieve greater results but that you will have to decide once you have finished reading this article.

Consumer education has proven to be an effective way to improve energy efficiency of households and businesses alike. When combined with programs that apply social science to energy conservation it can incite individuals to reduce consumption and make decisions that will enable their companies to save as well.

Wind Power a low cost green technology for the future - It is becoming ever so clear that the Government is planning in relying mostly on wind power to achieve its climate change bills commitment. By 2020, 15% of all energy generated in Britain must come from renewables. As the windiest place in Europe it is only logical that we rely on this type of renewable energy resource.

New Wind Farms All Over Britain The Government is subsidising a handful of projects that are working on making eolic energy generation more efficient. Two of these projects have caught our attention - Floating Wind Farms and the new generation of giant wind turbines.

Floating wind farms have been discussed for quite a while now and the progress in research made by companies like Statoil are making a viable business opportunity for the near future.

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

The s mart metering specialist Bglobal has announced its maiden profit and a surge in revenues.The AIM-listed Lancashire company said it has passed several milestones, including buying near neighbour Utilisoft for £12.8m in May.In the six months to September 30 group revenues rocketed 114% from £5.82m in the first half of 2009 to £12.46m. A profit of £770,000 was declared, compared with a loss last year of £670,000.Chief executive Tim Jackson-Smith, said: "The group has passed a number of milestones. http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/100529-maiden-profit-for-bglobal.html?news_section=28384#

Investment in the development of shale gas, a natural gas recovered through a careful procedure involving horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the US and Europe could hit Middle East gas markets, said an expert.

"Over the last several years, technologies for extracting unconventional natural gas from shale formations have been implemented with greater precisions resulting in lower costs," said Colin Chapman, president of Euro-Petroleum Consultants' (EPC), a leading independent consultancy for downstream oil, gas and petrochemicals industries.

"So much so that costs for these types of gas projects have been in some cases lower than those of more conventional projects," Chapman pointed out in the EPC analysis of the growing role of shale gas production in Europe, North America and Asia.

E.ON AG and RWE AG may raise natural gas prices for U.K. households within the next month to six weeks, the Sunday Times reported. The two German companies have signaled their intention for a single-digit increase to energy bills, the newspaper said, without saying where it got the information.

Monday, 6 December 2010

The 15-strong fleet operates on compressed biomethane gas, which reduces both CO2 and nitrogen dioxide emissions by 60%, when compared to fossil fuels. The gas was produced from organic waste manufactured from a landfill site in Surrey. The vans will be supported by a newly upgraded refuelling station at Camden Transport Service, in King's Cross. Camden is also launching London's first free electric charging point for commercial vehicles, which generates some of its energy from the refuelling station's solar panels. Camden Council's cabinet member for sustainability, councillor Angela Mason, said: "I am delighted to launch this innovative fleet. "It is incredible to think that just one tonne of this special fuel can power a 44-tonne heavy goods vehicle for an entire week. ] http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=19100

One of the largest companies in the world has announced a £100 million investment in a green energy centre for the UK.

Mitsubishi is establishing an engineering centre in Scotland for research and development of offshore wind technology.

The firm expects to create up to 200 jobs at its Centre for Advanced Technology in Edinburgh. Mitsubishi is also acquiring an Edinburgh University spin-off, Artemis Power, safeguarding 25 jobs.

The move was welcomed by Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, who said: "Scotland is a leader in the development of clean green energy and boasts a world-class research and development base that is pioneering technologies that will have a global impact on combating climate change."

The deal was made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) through its subsidiary, Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe (MPSE), and announced at a press conference in the Scottish capital.

Well the big news and main driver of prices for last month has been the weather, and so far the system has coped well with the increased demand. However any prolonged spells of cold weather will impact on storage levels and could leave us with potential shortfalls. So any expected deliveries of LNG will be greatly received and could contribute considerably to keeping supply margins in place. Prices have steadily risen throughout the last month and as we write this report gas demand is approaching all time highs as the wintery weather continues to cause distribution. Any serious system issues could have wider implications for our continued supply demand and with this uncertainty hanging over the market.

Saturday, 4 December 2010

Switching off unnecessary lights would save money for London's workplaces, which is a clear incentive in the current economic climate, the Assembly's Environment Committee heard today.

In the capital, workplaces make up 43 percent of carbon emissions and lighting accounts for a fifth of these. It has been estimated that lighting costs could be cut by up to 15 percent simply by turning off lights in areas that are not being used.

Howard Dawber, head of strategy at the Canary Wharf Group, told the Committee that the Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme ( CRC ), is acting as an incentive for companies to adopt energy savings policies because it is now a business cost. Under the scheme, all organisations whose annual electricity bill is equivalent to about £500,000 a year must measure their carbon emissions and "buy" allowances to cover their emissions for the previous year. http://media-newswire.com/release_1135522.html

Friday, 3 December 2010

UK gas prices rose yesterday as high heating demand in a prolonged cold spell continued to drain Britain's limited gas stocks, increasing fears over supplies for the rest of winter.

With temperatures plunging to less than -20 degrees Celsius in Scotland overnight, prompt UK wholesale gas prices rose to their highest level since early 2009, when a fifth of Europe's gas was cut off during a row between Russia and Ukraine.

Gas for delivery on Thursday rose to a high of 64 pence per therm before easing to 62.50 at 0910 GMT, up 1.25 pence from the close on Wednesday, while gas for delivery on Friday traded roughly in line with Thursday contracts.

Opus Energy celebrated winning the Independent Energy Supplier of the Year award at last week's inaugural Energy Excellence Awards. The result was decided by both a popular vote and a panel of judges. The awarding panel acknowledged that: "[Opus Energy] has shown major growth and a rising profile in the past year, with new and flexible products introduced for smaller companies. [Opus Energy] offers smart meters for free, helping companies be greener and drive emissions down." http://www.prlog.org/11122288-opus-energy-wins-independent-energy-supplier-of-the-year-award.html

The highest-priced coal in two years is making wood pellets a viable alternative as a fuel for U.K. power producers, heralding a doubling of electricity generation from biomass in the next three years. Using coal to make a megawatt hour of electricity in the U.K. costs 40.25 euros ($53), compared with 39.35 euros for wood, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Prices have been "approximately the same" since May, it said. Pledges by Prime Minister David Cameron's government to step up renewable energy use are stoking investment in U.K. projects to get electricity from biomass such as tree and vegetable matter just as coal prices surge amid rising demand from China. Utilities plan to more than double biomass capacity in Britain to 5,800 megawatts by 2014, enough to supply almost 6 million homes, New Energy Finance said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-03/coal-s-surge-coaxes-u-k-utilities-to-burn-wood-energy-markets.html

Thursday, 2 December 2010

UK business gas prices rose on Thursday as high heating demand in a prolonged cold spell continued to drain Britain's limited gas stocks, increasing fears over supplies for the rest of winter.

With temperatures plunging to less than -20 degrees Celsius in Scotland overnight, prompt UK wholesale gas prices rose to their highest level since early 2009, when a fifth of Europe's gas was cut off during a row between Russia and Ukraine.

Gas for delivery on Thursday rose to a high of 64 pence per therm before easing to 62.50 at 0910 GMT, up 1.25 pence from the close on Wednesday, while gas for delivery on Friday traded roughly in line with Thursday contracts.

Britain's biggest gas storage site, Rough, continued to pump into the UK network at near capacity, according to data from National Grid, leaving less to top up supplies for later in winter which is usually colder than early December.

npower has once again proven its credentials as an award-winning energy company, by picking up the 'Energy Supplier of the Year' at the inaugural Energy 'Buying & Supplying Excellence' Awards.

The award, voted for by business customers, celebrates the UK supplier that has performed outstandingly in customer service, relationship management and product offerings over the past year.

The Energy 'Buying & Supplying Excellence' Awards were created to recognise excellence by energy procurement specialists, and the energy brokers and utility suppliers that support them. The awards were presented at a ceremony at The Langham Hotel in London on 25th November 2010.

David Cockshott, director of industrial and commercial markets at npower, who accepted the award, said: "Being named 'Energy Supplier of the Year' is a fantastic achievement for npower and a testament to everyone's hard work and dedication over the past year.

Households face the possibility of further rises in their energy bills, after the cold weather that has struck the country caused gas prices to rise to the highest level for 18 months. The National Grid has reported a significant increase in the demand for power as many parts of Britain have been experiencing unprecedented low temperatures for this time of year. Demand for gas yesterday was 25 per cent more than it was at this time last year and the third highest daily amount on record, as households and businesses turned up their thermostats. The surge in demand caused concern in the wholesale markets, with the price of gas jumping 11 per cent to 62p per therm - the highest level in 18 months. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/8174586/Fears-over-record-gas-bills-in-cold-weather.html

North East-based renewable energy centre Narec will reveal details of its involvement on a new £6m, pan-European project at a major industry event next week. The nationally-focused organisation, which pioneers clean energy technology, will tell market leaders from across the UK about its Europe-wide work at the Solar Flair 10 conference in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

The conference, organised by the County Durham Development Company (CDDC) will bring together key figures from the photovoltaic technology industry, as well as executives from industries that could play a lead role in the nation's solar energy drive in the coming years.

Blyth-headquartered Narec has recently been enlisted to help develop several European projects that, when combined, are valued at over £20m.

The latest of these is a contract for its photovoltaic division to work on 20Plus - a three-year project worth around £6m to nine project partners that span six countries.

Dr Alex Cole, business development manager specialising in PV technology at Narec, will give further details of the project at Solar Flair 10, as well as explaining his work with crystalline silicon PV technology.

Speaking ahead of the event, Dr Cole said: "In the 20Plus project, major European industry and research institutes have come together to develop the next generation of crystalline silicon solar cells with efficiencies over 20% and thicknesses less than 100 micro metres, thus reducing cell cost and PV energy payback time.

UK spot power prices surged to their highest level in 22 months Wednesday on the back of a cold weather forecast and bullish UK gas prices, said traders.

At midday Wednesday, UK OTC power for next-day delivery was trading GBP15.50 above Tuesday's closing level at GBP70/MWh in base, with the peakload contract GBP26 higher than Tuesday at GBP91.25/MWh. This is the contract's highest level since January 8, 2009, Platts data show.

Block 5--the contract corresponding to the evening period when demand is the highest--was heard trading at GBP125/MWh, according to a source.

On the N2EX wholesale power exchange, day-ahead base was also up more than GBP15 day-on-day at GBP70.36/MWh.

"The weather is very cold and the nuclear plants are not running," a source said. "There's certainly a risk premium factored into these prices...the oil-fired plants haven't run for a long time...it's a necessary safety net."

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

French liquefied natural gas injections in the week ending Sunday rose by 26.2% year on year to 4,235.1 GWh, as gas demand surged on the back of freezing temperatures, the latest data from gas grid operator GRTgaz showed Monday.

LNG injections into the grid were boosted by a rise in gas sendouts from the Mediterranean Fos Tonkin and Fos Cavaou terminals, where combined flows rose by 46.8% on the year to 3,065.9 GWh.

At the Montoir de Bretagne facility, on the Atlantic coast, flows fell by 7.7% to 1,169.1 GWh.

There are many facts and myths surrounding global warming but there is no debate in the scientific world that human evolution has contributed to it. In this article you will find facts and figures that prove human kind are contributing towards climate change. In the last 50 years, Alaska's temperature has gone up around twice the rate of the rest of the world.

Fact and Figures about Global Warming This could very well be because Alaska is close to one of the biggest producers of green house gases countries.

Aviation is considered responsible for about 3.5% of climate change, but that figure could reach 15% by 2050 as air travel increases.

If China eventually uses as much paper as the U.S. currently does, it will need twice as much as the entire world now produces. Imagine how many trees will have to be cut down to produce that much paper.